TRION’s MMO RIFT goes free to play

14 May 2013 by Paul Younger

RIFT Storm Legion

TRION has decided to join the free to play MMO club with RIFT, a move that has proved successful for MMOs such Star Wars: The Old Republic which has seen increased revenue since a free to play model was introduced.

RIFT has been one of the finest MMOs in recent years, but like most MMOs, it failed to pull the crowds away from World of Warcraft. That’s not too say RIFT is not a good game, it’s one of the finest MMOs to be released in recent years.

The game launched quite smoothly back on 1 March 2011 but numbers declined in the following months despite regular large content updates from TRION. Now the time has come for TRION to bite the bullet and open the gates to Telara for free on 12 June.

“We have been listening to feedback from our players and watching the continuously developing MMO community, and are now ready to launch RIFT as a premium free-to-play experience,” said Bill Fisher, Creative Director of RIFT. “After taking our time and planning a careful transition; we are very excited to bring an enhanced game experience to everyone, without barriers.”

“As a gamer’s game, a super fun and fair experience is of the utmost importance to us,” said Fisher. “Players will have the opportunity to buy customizations and boosts to heighten their play experience; however the best gear in the game will always have to be earned through playing RIFT.”

The free to play RIFT will include all the game’s content and will be monetised through an expanded RIFT store where there will be mounts, boosts, wardrobe items and more available for purchase. There will still be a subscription model available for fans who will also be rewarded with loyalty and currency rewards.

The free to play RIFT will launch on 12 June when the 2.3 update Empyreal Assault goes live. A free to play page is now available on the RIFT website.